Samuel Raymond Wells (born 13 July 1984) is a New Zealand former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

between the 2007–08 and 2016–17 seasons.Sam Wells

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. Retrieved 16 February 2024. He played as an

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

Cricket career

Wells was born at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1984 and was educated at Otago Boys' High School in the city before studying law and politics at Otago University, graduating in 2007.McCarron A (2010) ''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010'', p. 137. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
Available online
at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)Stephen C (2018) A lawyers' cricketing XIII, New Zealand Law Society, 2 March 2018.
Archived version
available at the

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. Retrieved 16 February 2024.)Wells wowing cricket world
New Zealand Cricket, 27 November 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2024.Cricket: New boy Wells meets Black Caps teammates
'' New Zealand Herald'', 23 January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2024. He first played for Otago age-group sides during the 2002–03 season and for the Otago 'A' team from 2004–05, before making his debut for the senior provincial side in a November 2007 first-class match against Central Districts, making scores of 15 and five

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

on debut.Sam Wells
CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 February 2024. An

, Wells played predominantly in first-class matches during his early career, making his

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

debut in 2008–09 and his

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

debut in 2010–11. Two

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Takin ...

s in the first two matches of the 2009–10 Plunket Shield season brought him to wider attention, and later in the season he scored his first two centuries. He scored 478 first-class runs during the season, finishing with a batting average of 59.75 runs per innings, and took 21 wickets. The following season saw his batting average at 40.16 and he attended a

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training camp ahead of the 2011–12 season. After scoring a rapid 65 runs and taking one wicket for a New Zealand XI in a warm up match against the touring Zimbabweans in January 2012, Wells was a surprise call up to the New Zealand squad for the only Test match of the tour. He did not play in the match and was never called up to a full national squad again, although he did play two first-class matches for the New Zealand A team against India A during their tour of New Zealand in September and October 2012.Former Otago allrounder Sam Wells appointed New Zealand's selection manager

. Retrieved 16 February 2024. In a domestic career that lasted until the end of the 2016–17 season, Wells played 141 matches for Otago.Wells new NZC selection manager
''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'', 29 September 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024. In 63 first-class matches, 61 of which were for the provincial side, he scored four centuries and took 115 wickets. He also played in 43 List A and 37 Twenty20 matches for Otago.Former Volts appointed Otago Selectors
Otago Cricket, 4 November 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.

Professional and selection career

Wells was admitted to the bar in 2014 and has worked in litigation at the Dunedin law firm Gallaway Cook Allan. He was a selector for the Otago A side and in November 2022 was appointed the Convenor of Selectors for the Otago side. After a season in the role he was appointed as the selection manager for the New Zealand national side, working alongside coaches to inform the selection process.Former Otago Volt Sam Wells appointed Blackcaps Selector
Otago Cricket, 28 September 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.Second A (2023
Wells steps up to 'soft power' role
''

'', 27 October 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Sam 1984 births Living people New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Cricketers from Dunedin University of Otago alumni 21st-century New Zealand lawyers People educated at Otago Boys' High School